Through the paper “Engineering Solutions Enabling a New Family of Expandable, Multi-Process, Multi-Chamber Vacuum Roll Coaters”, published 1999, Society of Vacuum Coaters, 42nd Annual Technical Conference Proceedings (1999) ISSN 0737-5921, pp. 475 to 479, it has become known to connect in series a large number of modular chambers and lock valves in order to be able to carry out sequentially any desired coating and treatment processes of webs. However, this presupposes the highly precise orientation of the module chambers, in order to make possible the trouble-free transport of the webs through all chambers and their connection slots.
The installation is one that is combined or can be combined out of chamber modules, for which no possibilities for the relative orientation of the chambers with respect to one another and no internal means for the correction of the web running path are specified.
DE 197 35 603 C1 discloses disposing in the individual module chambers, separated by web valves, roller frames with guide and coating rollers, such that the web traversal can be adapted through the registration or torsion of the roller frames relative to one another. Since hereby the coating rollers, denoted as cooling rollers, are also rotated, it is required to adapt by adjustment the coating sources, so-called magnetron sputter sources, to the spatial position of the coating rollers. Such setting or registration is cumbersome, time consuming and complicated and assumes a vast number of adjusting mechanisms and manual setting processes. Not disclosed are especially solutions to the problem, that through the adjustment of the coating rollers the gap widths between their surfaces and stationary chamber partitioning walls, which encompass the coating rollers, are also changed.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,485,125 discloses affecting near the end of an arcuate running path of travel of a web through a long series of vacuum chambers, disposed in the form of an arc, the remaining path thereby that before the winding-up the web is allowed to run over a single roller whose one bearing can be adjusted eccentrically such that a telescopic winding on the take-up winding roller is avoided. While it is possible to adjust under remote operation the direction of the eccentricity through a light barrier, not, however, the degree of the eccentricity. Direction of adjustment and eccentricity are therewith coupled necessarily, and this can have a negative effect. The eccentricity must be kept low, for example a few thousandths of an inch, in order for the web not to abut the slot edges which are disposed in front and above said roller. The installation is one combined or that can be combined out of chamber modules for which no possibilities for the relative orientation of the chambers with respect to one another are specified.
EP 0 733 736 A2 discloses in the case of a non-vacuum installation, for example in paper production by means of a continuous running belt, such as a screen belt or conveyor belt, to adjust the angular position of at least one of the plurality of rollers forming a roller array through its one bearing block directed movably on rollers, relative to the running direction of the belt. Such continuous belts form a loop which is inherent to the installation and is not wound up, but rather serves for the underpropping and for the transport of the finite paper web or the product to be treated. The problem of telescopic winding of the paper web is not addressed; rather, the issue involves only avoiding the lateral migration of the continuous belt on the roller array. The device does not pertain to the species.
In its introduction U.S. 2001/0040097 A1 clearly expresses a position in contrast to the above cited U.S. Pat. No. 4,485,125. Disclosed is an apparatus operated for the galvanic coating with liquid baths and water. Vacuum processes are conventionally operated in a vacuum of less than 1 mbar, for example up to 10-2 mbar and below. In such a vacuum an aqueous fluid would evaporate to a large extent. Transfer of the known solution to vacuum processes is thus neither disclosed nor made obvious.
The invention therefore has as its aim to specify a guide arrangement of the above described species, in which the absolutely linear orientation of the individual chamber modules becomes superfluous, and in which the web guidance can be set and fixed in position independently of possibly not exactly linear spatial positions of the coating rollers and of the treatment and coating sources and chamber modules.
The solution of the posed aim is achieved according to the invention through the distinguishing features in the characterizing clause of patent claim 1.
The invention avoids the disadvantages of prior art, in particular a guide arrangement of the above described species is specified, in which the absolutely linear orientation of the individual chamber modules becomes superfluous, and in which the web guidance can be set and fixed in position independently of possibly not exactly linear spatial positions of the coating roller and/or of the treatment and coating sources and chamber modules and can be carried out without great constructional and operational effort.
The invention therefore has as its aim to specify a guide arrangement of the above described species, in which an absolutely linear orientation of the individual chamber modules becomes unnecessary, and in which the web guidance can be set and fixed in position independently of the spatial positions of the coating roller and of the treatment and coating sources and chambers.
The defined aim is attained according to the invention thereby that the guide roller is supported between two pivot bearings, of which at least one is adjustable relative to the other transversely to the axis.
The invention avoids the disadvantages of prior art. In particular a guide arrangement of the above described species is specified, in which the absolutely linear orientation of the individual chamber modules becomes superfluous, and in which the web guidance can be carried out settably and fixably independently of the spatial positions of the coating roller and/or the treatment and coating sources and chambers without great constructional and operational effort.
It is especially advantageous if within the scope of additional embodiments of the invention—either singly or in combination:                the adjustable pivot bearing is adjustable parallel to the chamber wall,        the adjustable pivot bearing comprises a slide guide fastened on the chamber wall, on which a slide with the pivot bearing is guided,        the adjustable pivot bearing is pivotably mounted on the slide,        the adjustment direction of the slide guide lies in the bisecting line of the arc of contact of the guide roller by the web,        the adjustable pivot bearing comprises a remotely operated adjustment drive,        the adjustment drive is comprised of an electromotor, a step-down gear and a rotation coupling,        the rotation coupling comprises an elastic intermediate member,        the electromotor, the step-down gear and the rotation coupling have axes aligned with one another,        the aligned axes are oriented parallel to the displacement direction of the slide guide,        the portion, not covered by the slide, of the slide guide is covered by at least one bellows,        the slide guide comprises at both ends one stop each,        the pivot bearing, not adjustable in the transverse direction, on the other end of the guide roller is pivotably fastened on a holding fixture,        the holding fixture of the nonadjustable pivot bearing has axial tolerance for the compensation of angle and length changes of the guide roller,        in a series disposition of evacuatable chambers the adjustable guide rollers are each disposed in front of a slot forming the passage opening to the succeeding chamber,        in a series disposition of evacuatable chambers the adjustable guide rollers are each disposed behind a slot forming the passage opening to the succeeding chamber,        in the proximity of at least one edge of the traversing web at least one optical sensor is disposed for the acquisition of the traversal of this edge and for affecting the adjustment drive,        on the web traversal on a line perpendicular to the web edge several optic sensors are disposed for determining the instantaneous web traversal,        the web treatment installation is comprised of a series disposition of at least two chamber modules, in each of which an adjustable guide roller is disposed in front of a passage opening in the form of a slot to the succeeding chamber,        the orientation of the web running direction in the chambers of a web treatment installation combined out of individual chamber modules, in the event the web running direction deviates from a straight line on the roller arrangements of the adjacent chamber modules, not oriented exactly with respect to one another, in at least one of these chamber modules can be set through at least one adjustable guide roller, and/or if        the guide arrangement with at least one guide roller, which comprises an axis and is supported between two pivot bearings, of which at least one is disposed such that it is adjustable relative to the other by means of a slide guide with one slide transversely to the axis on a chamber wall, is utilized for the compensation of deviations of the running direction of webs in at least one chamber of an evacuatable web treatment installation combined out of individual chamber modules not oriented exactly with respect to one another.        
In the following embodiment examples of the subject of the invention and their operational mechanisms will be explained in further detail in conjunction with FIGS. 1 to 3.